The present invention relates generally to the field of blood tracking. In particular, the present invention relates to a portable lighting unit configured to track blood using a light emitting diode (LED) illumination system.
There are occasions in which it is useful to be able to easily identify small amounts of blood in a particular environment. For example, a hunter may wound an animal, such as a deer, that runs some distance away from the hunter after being wounded. In such a case, the hunter would like to follow the blood trail in order to find the animal. Small drops of blood can be difficult to see on the ground and on foliage, especially in low light conditions. To aid the hunter, blood tracking systems have been devised that help differentiate the red color of the blood from the rest of the environment. Such systems include the utilization of special filters placed on flashlights and/or special goggles or glasses that highlight the blood.
It would be advantageous to provide a portable lighting device that gives the user true blood tracking capability in low-level lighting conditions by using the optical principle of color enhancement. In particular, it would be advantageous to provide a lighting device that gives a distinct visual appearance to blood without requiring special filters on a light source or requiring the user to wear special glasses or goggles.